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and the picturesque porch and carved door on the
north side of the Fratry, are his work. The Abbey continued in the
Edolph family until 1719, when it passed by purchase to Sir Peter Eaton;
and subsequently, by marriage with one of his descendants in 1750, to
George Sayer of Pett Place, Charing, Kent; whose great-grandson, John
Sayer of the same place, is the present owner.
The remains of the Abbey occupy a prominent position, on a
hill, about three miles equi-distant from Dover and Folkestone. Visitors
are doubtless familiar with the ivy-clad ruins of what has hitherto been
called the gatehouse, but which is really the tower; also with the
remains of the nave, transept, chapter house, cellarer's buildings, and
the refectory, with its quaint sixteenth-century alterations. The extent
of the church was, however, quite unknown; and in order to ascertain
this point excavations were commenced, in the spring of 1880, by myself
and Mr. Richard Ussher; the cost being defrayed by the owner, assisted
by Canon Jenkins, Mr. Robert Furley, and others.
Operations were commenced on March 29th with four |
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men, and the first day's work sufficed to discover
and lay bare the foundations of the east end of the church. In the
course of the next three days the whole of the walls of the eastern arm
and transept, excepting a small portion of the south aisle where a tree
intervened, had been traced out. The east and south walls of the chapter
house were also defined and the extent of the infirmary hall. Many of
the doors and other details had become obscured by the accumulation of
soil and debris; this was removed, and part of the tower area
cleared, to shew the bases of the arches. The arch, from the latter into
the transept, had been much mutilated and then blocked up; the material
was all removed and many of the stones found to be portions of tombs,
floriated Transitional or early English capitals, and arch voussoirs
with dog-tooth ornament. A beginning was also made on the extreme
western range of buildings, but this portion still needs excavating.
In the following November, the balance of the
excavating fund having been increased by a grant from the Kent |